Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Coronation Street Blog interview with Marc Baylis – Rob Donovan

Roll up! Roll up! Read all about it – “Boozy
Bookie Bludgeoned Barmaid”. That’s how I imagine the front-page headline of
today’s Weatherfield Gazette will read now that Rob has literally got away with
murder.

On the morning after being named “Best Bad
Boy” at the Inside Soap Awards – and just a few days after filming his final
scenes as Rob Donovan – I caught up with Marc Baylis at ITV HQ in London. Marc
was in fine form as he looked forward to an exciting crescendo for the
character of Rob.

Marc Baylis with our blogger Martin (on the left...!)

Before the trial, Rob was “pretty sure he’d
got away with it”, says Marc. He felt more confident “with some of the evidence
given against Peter”. Even so, when the verdict was announced at Weatherfield
Crown Court last night, Rob looked almost as shocked as Peter.

Going through the details of Tina’s death
in court threw Rob “off kilter” and the resurfacing guilt resulted in him
letting “a couple of hints” out of the bag. Rob’s failure to share Carla’s
doubts about Peter’s guilt and his insistence to Simon that Peter did not kill
Tina have set alarm bells ringing - especially now that Carla knows about Rob’s
little pep talk with Simon.

Erratic behaviour such as this will ultimately
be Donovan’s downfall. Carla is convinced that Peter is innocent and next week
Rob will confess to his sister - “They’ve been through so much together that he
doesn’t have to say it, she just knows”. Essentially, Rob “just can’t lie to
her anymore”, Marc says. What we do not know is what Carla will do with this
information and whether or not she will stand by him and let Peter rot in jail.

Rob hopes that Carla’s family loyalty will
outweigh any feelings she once had for Peter and Marc notes that Rob “has
brainwashed himself throughout the whole event and he’s trying to brainwash her
as well”.

Tracy’s hen do, Rob’s stag do and the
wedding will all take place next week. It won’t be a wild one for Rob, who Marc
explains is “trying to be angelic”.Instead of going out with the lads, he will have a few drinks with his
‘best woman’ Carla and Michelle because Rob “wants the whole wedding day to be
absolutely magical”. Perhaps his secret will be exposed at this point, which
would leave Carla contemplating an interesting dilemma on the day of the
wedding.

It is somewhat curious that despite Rob’s
murderous ways, there is still a likeability factor about him. When Rob was
revealed to be Tina’s murderer, Marc says the reaction from fans was “the polar
opposite” of what he expected – “for some reason it has made people like Rob
more.”

Rob Donovan is not the archetypal soap
villain. One of the most interesting aspects of his character is that he does
feel guilty for what he has done. Rob tried to stay away from court in order to
“carry on his denial” but was hoodwinked into attending the trial in a show of
loyalty towards the Barlow family. This led to “all the guilt layering up
within Rob again” and explains his recent slip-ups.

Rob has redeeming qualities in his obvious love
for both his sister and his fiancée. Marc regards this loyalty as key to Rob
and feels “that’s why the storyline is working”. “We’ve tried to be as delicate
as we possibly can. I’ve stated a lot to people that we don’t need too many
shots of Rob being dastardly in the background… and not too many guilty looks.”
“I kind of wanted to keep it away from being too much of a soap villain”, he
continues, and instead show “as much of a real person as possible going through
that situation”.

I was intrigued to know at what point Marc
discovered that Rob was to be Tina’s murderer. Marc recalls there was a month
after “Michelle (Keegan) found out that Tina was going to be killed off until I
found out that Rob was the murderer”. He laughs that everyone was walking
around work going ‘I hope it’s not me’. “It was a dramatic month”, he says –
“more dramatic than the actual material on air!”

As soon as the murder storyline came up,
Marc “knew that there was a timeline” which he believes has been “timed to
perfection”.He has had “a
brilliant two and a half years” and although he would have liked to have stayed
on for longer, he is “very happy to be going” because of the strength of the
material that leads to Rob’s exit.

Marc feels “really lucky to have had this
storyline”. He is clearly philosophical about the end of his time at Coronation
Street and immensely proud of what he has achieved. He describes the scripts he
has been given during Rob’s exit storyline as “by far the best material that
I’ve had since being on the show”.

He is quick to praise Michelle Keegan for
her portrayal of Tina and express his pride at being involved in the departure
of such a massive character. He considers this a “compliment”, noting that as
an actor “you want to be there with good material”.

Next week Rob and Tracy are due to have
their fairytale wedding. Marc talks about “the romantic picturesque life that
is being drawn up” for Rob and Tracy but can’t reveal whether or not they will
actually tie the knot. Being soap land, “it doesn’t necessarily go to plan”.
Peter Barlow can definitely be struck off the guest list, though – that we do
know.

Rob really does want to marry Tracy – “as
far as they are both concerned they are meant to be together”, says Marc, “so
it’s exterior events that take over”.

The wedding venue is “the most beautiful
location that you will ever see and it’s them always punching above their weight”.
What I really want to know though is whether the harpist has been booked and
whether “Firestarter” will be performed!

The wedding was filmed at Capesthorne Hall
in Cheshire, which is where Simon Gregson’s wedding reception was held in real
life. “It’s just absolutely stunning,” says Marc and he enthusiastically describes
the huge lakes and lawns and the horse and carriage that have already been
revealed in the publicity shots.

Marc says that he and Kate Ford “have had
an absolute blast playing each other’s partners” and if it wasn’t for Rob’s
actions, he believes Rob and Tracy could have gone on to live “not necessarily
happily ever after, but as happily ever after as Rob and Tracy could be”. It
would be a tempestuous Burton-Taylor type of relationship but it would never be
boring.

The outfits at the wedding will be
traditional. Kate’s dress is white and “absolutely stunning” while Rob has
“gone for the long tails”. It is difficult to see how there can be a happy
ending but whatever happens in the next couple of weeks, Marc likes to think
that Tracy loves Rob so much that she would wait for him.

Marc feels that Rob getting together with
Tracy marked a turning point that saw Rob “really become accepted on The Street”.
He is very honest in saying that before Rob and Tracy were put together, “it
felt like we didn’t quite know what to do with Rob”. However, “as soon as they
got together, it just worked”. I agree that Rob and Tracy are extremely well
matched and I’ve enjoyed the dynamic between them. It is shame to break that
up. Tracy has actually become almost likeable as a result. Almost.

Stuart Blackburn has stated that he would
like Rob to return at some point.According to Marc “the future is a blank canvas” and he is definitely
not against coming back “if it’s right for everyone”. In the more immediate
future, he is appearing in pantomime as The Prince in “Sleeping Beauty” in
Bromley. There can’t be many soap murderers who are cast as anything other than
the panto villain. This is testament to that likeability factor I was talking
about.

Other than that, he is “happy to go where
the wind blows”. “It’s a really weird change”, concedes Marc who compares his
newfound freedom to “moving out of home” or the feeling he’s “just finished
university”.

Marc has invested in his own camera and
microphone and for his leaving present, his Corrie colleagues clubbed together
to buy him a lighting rig. As a result, he will now be able to “put tapes
together and send those out”.

He would love to do an American drama and
was considering going to the States in the New Year for pilot season. However,
he will stay in the UK and see what opportunities arise here. He’ll certainly be
able to get down to Villa Park more often and is looking forward to watching
Coronation Street as a viewer again.

Emotionally, it must have been difficult playing
the part of Rob in recent months. Marc says he has “never had to work so hard”
but it has “been made easier by the material”. He was worried about burning out
but thankfully made it through unscathed.

Rob’s final scenes were shot at nighttime,
which makes me think he might do a moonlight flit. Marc recalls that “it wasn’t
the easiest of shoots” with the elements against them. But cast and crew were
determined to “get the work right, through to the end” so that Rob’s final
scenes bring the storyline to a powerful conclusion.

The whole way through, I’ve been considering
whether Rob Donovan is an evil murderer or just an ordinary guy who found
himself in a difficult situation and made a bad decision. I think the latter but I am curious to know
how far Rob would have gone to protect himself. Would he, for example, have
sold Carla or Tracy down the river if either of them had been prime suspect for
Tina’s murder?

“Absolutely not”, says Marc emphatically. “The
whole concept of this storyline and Rob and Carla’s relationship is about the
truth and the loyalty and there is a lot to do with family values and morals”. It
seems strange to think of a murderer as having morals but Marc believes he would
apply the same principles to Tracy.

Rob Donovan arrived in Weatherfield, just
over two years ago, an ex-con determined to build bridges with his estranged
sister and turn his life around. He found love, remarkably, with Tracy Barlow and
when Tina threatened to ruin all of that, he snapped. It is hard to predict how
anyone will react if they fear that what they love most is about to be ripped away from them.

Will Rob pay the price for his crime? One
way or another, I am sure that he will. And I hope Peter’s conviction will be
overturned. Rob has become a very strong character and he will be missed.

It has been reported that Rob’s exit will
be screened on Bonfire Night with explosive fireworks guaranteed. I suspect therefore
that Corrie fans will remember this fifth of November for some time to come.

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